Near catastrophe forces hospital to overhaul care

St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, N.Y., threw out its rulebook and changed its care and quality protocols after doctors almost removed the organs from an overdose patient they thought was dead, according to the Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard The procedure was stopped when the woman, who was actually in a deep coma, opened her eyes while in the operating room and looked at the lights. Several mistakes led to the near-miss and investigators faulted St. Joseph's for not doing a thorough review of the near-miss until state regulators intervened. But Kathryn Ruscitto, president and CEO of St. Joeseph's, outlined some of the changes the hospital has made in the wake of the incident. Those changes include redesigning its approach to patient care and conducting mandatory training that focuses on accountability. Article